France’s second crown

France’s victory in the football World Cup final brought to an end a month of exciting action from Russia. Fittingly, France and Croatia served up a memorable final, and France emerged deserving winners. Croatia fought hard and dominated ball-possession, but were a touch unlucky to be 1-2 down after an own-goal and a controversial penalty awarded to France. France had got into lead without having had a genuine shot at the Croatia goal. The penalty turned the tide — France scored twice in six minutes in the second half to make it 4-1. That was a deficit too big to be overturned, though Croatia did pull one back. This was the most open, thrilling World Cup final in living memory, the highest-scoring  final in 42 years. Croatia, the underdogs, deserve credit for playing without fear and forcing France to also abandon caution and go for goals.

Kylian Mbappe, who scored the fourth goal for France, represents the youth and diversity of the team. He’s the first teenager to score a goal in a World Cup final since Pele in 1958; born in France to parents with roots in Cameroon and Algeria, Mbappe is just one of the several “coloureds” in the team. Of the 23 players in the French squad, 16 trace their roots to countries such as Zaire, Cameroon, Morocco, Angola, Congo or Algeria. For decades, French football has been powered by mixed-heritage players — the team that won the World Cup in 1998 is known as “Black-Blanc-Beur”, ie Black-White-Arab. France’s second World Cup title, similarly, illustrates the sporting effects of immigration, even as the country grapples with identity issues due to immigration.

Russia deserves praise for delivering a wonderful World Cup. In the months before the tournament, Western media had stirred fears about the country, scaring many potential visitors away from the Word Cup. All fears proved to be unfounded. The organisers and the Russian people went out of their way to welcome the visitors and make them comfortable. The fan was the king. There were no riots among hooligans. The football was fantastic, with just one 0-0 draw in 64 matches. France won the crown, Croatia won the hearts. A World Cup like no other.